where cider meets condensed milk: It's Koreal: Dust from China and Food from Seoul

where cider meets condensed milk

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

It's Koreal: Dust from China and Food from Seoul

This is the National Assembly building in Seoul on a waterlogged afternoon. The non-rainy days were hazy and overcast, which was blamed on the infamous/ubiquitous Dust From China. I wandered over with Ty (former eikaiwa teacher, now a student of Japanese) and Manuel (Swiss/German allegedly non-goatherding Oxford boy) for a visit, but we were told it was too late. Disappointed and drenched, Ty began chatting with a man at the information desk who happened to know Japanese and wanted to practice on us. So, even though the building was now closed, we were given an awesome personally guided tour, and the three of us were free to gossip about our goat-herding friend at will. The guide was explaining about the creepy lion statue, and was insisted there was something stored underneath. Ty thought he was saying there were bodies, and I couldn't understand the word he kept repeating: uwain, uwain. It turns out there is wine stored underneath the statue. Whose? He didn't know. Why? Hmmmm.

Ty tempts the Korean sushi, Manuel inhales the bibimbap, and I'm eating food seasoned with something crazier than black pepper! I don't like Korean food because of spice and sneaky meat, but I succeeded in eating veggie bibimbap, random tofu soups with and without meat broth (vegetarian my foot!!), and some random fish concoctions. I tried to be very cultural, much to the dismay of a stomach that hates me and perhaps is still on fire. The rest of the time I was living on crackers and juice, so it wasn't that different than being at home. Or in kindergarten.

After 3 days in Seoul, I wanted to go to a national park on the eastern coast, but the rain cancelled those plans and instead I headed alone to the small city of Icheon. It was quite dull, but has lovely hot springs and a lot of ceramics. I like hot springs. One old lady didn't like me, though, and threw water accidentally-on-purpose in my direction. Joke's on you, grandma, I'm already in the tub!

In Icheon, I didn't see a single foreigner up until I boarded the same bus to a museum as a young Russian guy. His English ended at "Hello," and my Russian left me after "Spaceeba," so it was an awkward Party of Two on the bus ride and at the otherwise empty museum. The ceramics are famous for this blue sheen glaze, but the magic formula had to be rediscovered after the war because everything/everyone involved in the ancient process was... destroyed by the Japanese. Predictably enough.

Raaaaaaaaaaaah! I am going to eat you! (Korean or otherwise, this is what kilns always say to me.)

posted by Raychaa @ 11:22 PM

0 comments: